Memories
by Infamousplot
Summary: Kingdom Hearts drabbles, organization 13 style. From Axel's POV, his view on his friendship with Roxas and Xion, his life as Lea with Isa, and his day to day life in the Org. Friendship, no AkuRoku. 2nd chappy is up. Done for now.
1. Equivalent Exchange

Memories

Isa and Saix were like two sides of the same coin. And while I had memorized the Isa side, the Saix side was a whole new ball game. There were a lot of things about Saix that were the same as they'd always been: the silence, the OCDness he got about schedules and time, and the calm calculative air about him. But where Saix was icy, bitter and sarcastic, Isa was much warmer. He was open to the ideas of others, and he was willing to admit he didn't know everything. Isa had been curious, he'd wanted to learn more about the world. Now, Saix was as stubborn as hell, and refused to believe that others knew better than he did.

Where I'd once known Isa like the back of my hand, now, it was the same with Roxas. I'd memorized him: his smile, his laugh, the genuineness of all his emotions. There was the way he scowled whenever you called him a kid, and that defensive fierceness he got around Saix whenever he was talking down on Xion. And of course, that zombie-like trance he'd go into whenever he was thinking; his eyes would get all hazy as he focused on a blank space, and he'd get a serious, solemn look on his face as his mind churned silently. He always waited too long to eat his ice cream so that he had to eat it fast before it melted all over him, and he got depressed real easy, especially when he was alone. I could read Roxas like a book, and I had. There wasn't a page I hadn't memorized.

"What were you like as a Somebody, Axel?" Roxas asked, a relaxed smile on his face as he licked some dribbles from his melting ice cream. I frowned at the question, not really wanting to get into it.

"Same guy, more or less." I replied, and Roxas sighed, taking a bite from his snack.

"That's what you always say." He mumbled, his mouth full.

"Swallow before you talk, or you'll choke." I chuckled, sighing. "You can ask me a million times Roxas, and the answer will always be the same." I reminded him, and he sighed back, taking another bite from his ice cream and gazing contemplatively out at the sunset. For a while we just sat there, masked in a comfortable silence, until finally Roxas spoke again.

"How were you the same?" He asked, and I sighed heavily, falling backwards and closing my eyes. "Axel?" Even though my eyes were closed, I knew Roxas had turned his head to fix a solemnly curious gaze on me, and I placed my arm over my eyes in aggravation.

"I'm tryin' to remember, 'kay?" I grumbled. "Just gimme a second." I swore I could hear the satisfied smile as it slid across his face.

I didn't have to try to remember my past life. Memories like that just don't leave you alone: they haunt you every day and force their way into your mind through every crack in your defenses. You couldn't ignore them, so you had to embrace them or just live with them nagging your conscience every second of every day.

Ever since I'd met Roxas, I'd started to prefer the latter.

"I looked pretty much the same." I said finally, and I could almost see the irritated frown on Roxas' face, because I knew that wasn't what he was looking for. "Same hair, same face… My eyes were a little darker though… Oh, and I was a lot shorter." Pulling my arm away, I peeked at Roxas and sneered. "But I was still taller than you, half-pint." Roxas' eyes widened, and he scowled darkly at me. Laughing, I continued. "Huh… Lessee, what else was the same?" I tried to think of ways to compare myself to Lea. "I was still awesome in every way." I grinned.

"I'm guessing you were still an ego-maniac too?" Roxas chuckled, and I pushed him lightly with my foot.

"Yeah, sure." I scowled back. "As for differences… Well, my taste in fashion left something to be desired…" I cringed inwardly as I remembered the outfits Lea had put together.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, his blue eyes glowing with curiosity. I could almost see the gears in his mind turning wildly as he tried to imagine what I must have looked like.

"I was a very flamboyant child." I grinned, chuckling. "Very expressive, very… Colorful." I laughed, and Roxas grinned. "Hey, wipe that smile of your face! You don't exactly have a great sense in fashion either, checker-board boy." I smirked, and Roxas fell silent, scowling darkly at me. I laughed, closing my eyes.

"I can't help what I was wearing when I came here." He muttered, his voice full of scowl and pout.

"Oh get over yourself, it was just a joke!" I laughed. I was starting to wish Xion were here to help me out. The third opinion always helped to balance things out. Xion was good at playing mediator between Roxas and me, siding with one to help the other out, and then switching sides sporadically whenever she thought it was a good time.

"Did you have any friends as a Somebody?" Roxas asked, his mood lightening considerably. He seemed to have just noticed the last bits of his ice cream –which were now a puddle on his glove –and was attempting to clean up the mess with his tongue.

"Nope. I was a friendless loser." I replied sarcastically, shooting him a nasty grin. "Of course I had friends! I'm not an anti-social zombie like some people I know." Roxas glared at me, then smirked wickedly.

"Xion won't be very happy when she finds out you've been talking about her like that." He grinned, and I shoved him, laughing hard enough that my sides were starting ache a bit.

"Dude, not cool!" I tried to scowl at him, but the laughter prevented it.

"What was your friend like?" Roxas asked curiously, once the laughter had subsided. I frowned, closing my eyes. How did I explain Isa to Roxas?

"He was a lot like you." I decided, yawning. I opened one eye lazily, just in time to see Roxas' blue eyes grow wide in surprise. He fixed his gaze on me like a laser, waiting for me to continue. "He was kind of quiet, very serious, but he was always thinking." I smiled sadly, my memories bittersweet.

"About?" Roxas pushed, still curious, which only made him seem more like Isa.

"Everything. The world, the worlds, people and heartless." I swung my arms out wide, trying to gesture to everything. "He was curious, like you. He was never satisfied with what people told him. He always had to know more." I grinned, my eyes narrowing as I jabbed verbally at Roxas. He didn't seem to take the hint, so I continued. "He was also pretty solemn, just like you. He was a little zombie-ish maybe, but not as much as you are." I grinned. This time, Roxas scowled, but he continued to listen intently.

"He was addicted to order, and things always had to be on time." I smiled wryly. "He hated being late for anything, and he was always nagging me for messing up his schedule." Roxas laughed at this.

"Sounds like Saix." He grinned, and I forced myself to laugh back, though I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Yeah… I guess so." I muttered quietly.

"Do you think he misses you?" Roxas asked suddenly, his voice quiet. This question took me by surprise, and when I looked over at him, I saw a familiar solemnity in his eyes as he watched me. Frowning, I turned away again, thinking silently of Saix. Did he miss me? Did he miss Lea, and the way things used to be?

"Probably not as much as you'd think." I mumbled, closing my eyes. "But, hey, you lose one thing, you gain another, right?" I smiled wryly. The look in Roxas' eyes told me this confused him.

"You ever heard about equivalent exchange?" I asked, yawning. Roxas shook his head, so I pushed on. "It's like this: to get something, you've gotta give something of equal value. I lost that friend, sure, but I got you and Xion instead." I smiled, opening my eyes again. "I guess I got more than I bargained for there, huh?" I grinned. Roxas frowned for a moment, and then turned to face the horizon, his eyes clouding over.

Shuffling about, I forced myself to sit up, looking out at the sunset. Here in Twilight town, the sun never got very high, and it sank pretty slowly. It was still sinking down over the hills, and it looked ready to dip down.

"It's getting pretty late. Don't you think we should head back?" I asked, but Roxas didn't respond. He hadn't stopped staring at the sunset since my spiel about equivalent exchange, and I starting to wonder… Had I said something that he'd taken the wrong way? "You okay?" I asked quietly.

"You know… You're lucky." Roxas said finally, sighing quietly. "I wish I could remember something, or anything, about my life from before."

"Ah, so that's what this is about." I smiled sadly at him. I should have known that was why he'd asked me about my life.

"You know how you were talking about equivalent exchange?" Roxas' solemn look was starting to shift into a smile. "I wonder if it applies for every Nobody? I mean, I lost my heart, I lost my old life, I lost my memory, and anything else I'd had before I became a Nobody… But…" He smiled, glancing over at me. "I guess it was worth it." He smiled. I laughed bitterly, shaking my head at his logic.

"How do you figure THAT?" I chuckled. Roxas looked up at me in that solemn way of his and smiled his genuine smile.

"If I hadn't become a Nobody, I never would have met you." It took me a minute to get over the utter shock that came with what Roxas had just said. Once I did though, I suddenly felt a warm glow in my chest, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. If I'd had a heart, it probably would have melted.

"Roxas…" That kid, that wonderfully sappy and naïve kid, "Y'know… You're a pretty great guy yourself." I smiled, leaning back and closing my eyes. I didn't have to open them to know that he was grinning too.


	2. Chronicles of the Shower Room

Axel hated taking showers. He hated getting wet in general, but showers were the worse. Especially in the Castle, where it was always so cold. Getting out was actually painful, and then you had to walk around with wet hair and freeze your butt off until it dried (originally, they'd had hair dryers, until Vexen stole them for one of his crazy experiments, and they'd never been seen again). Usually, Axel avoided taking showers –sure, he smelled funny, but it wasn't like anyone was around him enough to complain.

However, ever since the newbie showed up, Axel was forced to be more diligent about his hygiene and other things like that. Setting a good example for the next generation, and all that jazz… So now, every morning, Axel had to drag Roxas to the shower room. Which meant, he had to take a shower too (he couldn't stand around in the room fully clothed, and he couldn't just walk off and leave Roxas there).

"Hurry it up kid." Axel called, rapping impatiently on the wall. There was no response, but that was normal with Roxas. Still, he was being unusually quiet, even for a zombie. _Maybe he drowned._ Axel snorted. Was it even possible to drown in a shower?

The other members were shuffling about quietly, all wearing either towels or boxers. Zexion, Lexaeus, Marluxia, Luxord and Demyx were some of the few who could drag their rumps out of bed at the crack of dawn to shower before shuffling off to their missions. Axel was not one of these people, which was why he was practically sleeping on his feet, even after having taken his shower. He'd managed to at least get his pants on before nearly dozing off.

He was about to nod off again, when the shower suddenly stopped.

"About time." He grumbled, watching as the towel disappeared over the top of the wall.

Roxas shuffled out a minute later, hazy eyes and messy haired, his towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He stood expectantly before Axel, waiting for direction. "Little zombie…" Axel muttered, giving him a shove toward where his uniform was. "Go on, make it fast!" Axel was an impatient person, in case there was any doubt.

The shower room was as quiet as always, save for the occasional joke from Demyx to Marluxia. At the moment, Demyx was howling the lyrics to the Glee version of "Don't Stop Believin'", a sound that could be compared most easily to a cat being strangled. There was nothing worse than a tone-deaf musician, especially when he believed he was the greatest singer alive.

"Can I borrow some of your deodorant, Marly?" Axel teased as he waited for Roxas to get dressed. Marluxia shot him a suspicious look.

"Why?" Axel never asked to borrow anything from Marluxia.

"Cuz, I wanna smell all girly and pretty like you do." Marluxia scowled as Demyx and Luxord burst into laughter with Axel, Demyx giving the red head a high five.

Zexion yelped from the other side of the room, and Axel looked up, immediately regretting it.

"Oh God!" Turning away, he threw a hand over Roxas's suddenly widened eyes. "Vexen, what the hell are you doing!" Everyone was moaning and doing their best not to look; Zexion had both hands over his eyes, and was standing behind Lexaeus, and Axel had both his hand firmly over Roxas's eyes.

"What?" Vexen seemed confused as he made his way across the room.

"Idiot!" Marluxia cried, hand shielding his own eyes.

"Put a towel on, moron!" Axel practically shrieked, grabbing for his cloak and dropping it over Roxas's head. "Don't even think about taking that off." He warned as Roxas's hands shot up to remove it.

"What's the matter? This is the shower room. There's nothing wrong with it." Vexen shrugged. Everyone sighed, making an effort to get dressed as fast as possible.

"Here's the thing, Vex," Axel growled, pulling on his boots and gloves. "When we come in here, we either wait for you to get done," –Vexen raised an eyebrow, suddenly realizing why he was always in here alone –"Or, if we're in here already, we expect you to wait for us to get done!"

"And not subject us to… This." Luxord groaned, zipping up his cloak and rushing out the exit farthest from Vexen. Vexen huffed angrily, insulted by the lack of respect he got from his colleagues.

"Why I never." He harrumphed, crossing his arms and turning his head up in an indignant fashion.

"Put some pants on, idiot." Axel growled, turning Roxas around and taking his cloak back. "Don't turn around until I say so." Axel muttered, helping him pull his cloak over his head once he'd gotten his gloves on. Vexen gaped.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm a brilliant scientist-" He was cut off by a towel hitting him across the face.

"Get dressed, stupid! There are children in here!" Marluxia scoffed, gliding past toward the exit.

"Seriously dude, you're disgusting." Axel sighed, pulling Roxas's hood down over his eyes so that he wouldn't see anything as he was hurried out of the room.

"Weirdo." Demyx mumbled, rushing out as quickly as possible, followed by the silent Lexaeus guiding Zexion –who still has his hands over his eyes. Vexen stood there alone, moping. It was his typical, "Oh, nobody likes me, I'm so unpopular, why don't they respect me?, blah, blah, blah…" sulk, and as usual, he did it by himself. Poor him.

"What a freak." Axel sighed, shaking his head as he pulled off Roxas's hood. Roxas looked rather disgruntled, and even managed to shoot him a glare before returning to his zombie-like state.

"A bona fide pedophile." Marluxia agreed, sighing.

"He scares me…" Demyx mumbled, zipping up his cloak. He'd been too freaked out to finish dressing in the shower room, and had pulled on his cloak while rushing down the halls.

"Look at the bright side…" Axel began, but paused. "Y'know… I'm not sure what the bright side is to this one." He shrugged. "But, hey. At least we got away from the wacko." He grinned. And so began another day for Organization XIII…

And another trip to the Emo Corner for Vexen.


	3. Happy Little Family

**Originally I was going to write this beginning blip about how nobody reads this and how I was talking to imaginary people. And then someone reviewed, and I spazzed out, so now I can finally update it. Thank you Zchocolatebunniesrulexworld, for reviewing Memories. It's thanks to you that I can finally update this chapter that was sitting around in cyberspace waiting to time out XD**

**I wrote this after talking w/ my friend Fear the silly people about how Xion is like the baby of the KH trio. It's kind of based off the Ouran High School Host Club family relation the characters have.**

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It was a normal day at the clock tower, just the three of us. For once, actually. Lately, all three of us haven't been able to make it up here together. Ever since Roxas and Xion had been paired up for missions to hide the fact that she couldn't use her keyblade, I'd started to see less and less of them. Now though, finally, it was the three of us. I don't know why I was so pleased, though. After all, Roxas was the one who had been so intent on the three of us getting together. I shrugged it off, returning my attention to the conversation that had taken off without me.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." Xion was muttering, with a desolate expression that looked a lot like Roxas's. "Sooner or later... Don't you think Saix is gonna find out?" To my surprise, she looked past Roxas and over at me.

"Eh?"

"We've been at this for almost a week now, Axel." Xion frowned, with her too-real-to-be-my-imagination-sadness in her eyes. "Sooner or later, Saix is going to make Roxas and me go on separate missions again... And then, when he finds out-"

"Cut it out." I heard myself scolding. Xion looked up in surprise. "Come on Xion, don't think that way. Saix isn't going to find out, alright? Get it memorized." Xion -and now Roxas too -stared at me, blue eyes wide like little children.

"Y-You're sure?" Xion asked, her voice small. I grinned.

"Sure I'm sure. I'm Axel. I know everything." Xion sniffled a little bit, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "Just ask Roxas." Roxas snickered, shaking his head.

"He may like to _think_ that -"

"Nuh uh! I know everything. Commit it to memory." Xion giggled a little bit, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"So... What now?" Xion asked, gazing out at the sunset. I couldn't help but watch her profile as she stared out into the horizon. Man, she looked so much like Namine. Same face, same eyes. The only difference was the hair. Xion's hair was short and black, the perfect contrast to Namine's long blonde hair.

"Whaddaya mean?" Roxas asked, cocking his head a little bit. Xion looked over, almost a little surprised, like she hadn't realized she'd been talking aloud.

"Even if I do get the keyblade back -"

"Which you _will_," I reminded her,

"Even if it does come back, then what? Go back to heart collection, separate missions... What's the point?" Once again, her gaze fell not on Roxas, but on me. I guess she'd believed the 'I know everything' bit.

"Oh, Xion," I sighed, shaking my head. "You poor little incompetent noob." Xion scowled, in a way that was more pouty than Roxas usually did, but it still made me smile. "Am I gonna have to teach you everything too?" I laughed, "It looks like I'll be baby sitting two now, huh?" This made Roxas scowl too.

"Shut up!" He growled, actually crossing his arms. Just like a two-year-old. "We aren't babies, Axel." He reminded me. I nudged him with my foot, knocking him over onto his back.

"Then quit acting like one." I did my best impersonation of one of his scowls, and I must have done pretty good, because Xion laughed, and Roxas looked like he might murder someone. "Fine. You don't have to be the baby anymore." I sighed, which got me a surprised look from the baby-in-question. "I think it's fair to say you've graduated newbdom. Xion, that makes you the baby."

Roxas's face lit up with a grin the exact moment Xion's eyes grew wide with shock.

"What!"

"Don't talk back to me young lady!" I cried, putting on my best imitation of Saix. "I am your father, and you will treat me with respect." I struggled not to laugh as I jabbed a finger at Xion, who was trying hard to keep up the look of a desolate child. Roxas sat snickering next to the balcony, and I turned to him.

"Roxas... Don't encourage her. Aren't you going to help me scold our daughter?" I grinned wickedly as Roxas gaped, much like a fish.

"Wait-What! Since when is she _our_ daughter!" He cried in what looked like a mix of shock and despair.

"If Xion's the daughter and I'm the father, then that makes you the Mommy." Roxas scowled back, his usual response. Xion was giggling hysterically now, having scooted off the balcony so that she wouldn't fall off while laughing.

"Why do I have to be the mom?" Roxas all but wailed.

"Well, I'm the dad! That means you're the girl in this relationship." My face hurt from grinning so hard.

"Since when are we in a relationship?" Roxas threw up his arms in exasperation, falling back and huffing angrily. I looked over at Xion, who was grinning almost as widely as me. I'm not sure why it was, but for some reason we both got such a kick out of making Roxas miserable.

"Come on, _mommy._" Xion laughed, prodding Roxas's shoulder playfully. "You aren't gonna let daddy punish me, are you?" She giggled, looking up at me for a response. Like I said, my grin was already as big as it was going to get. Roxas spared us both a despondent look, then fixed a glare on me.

"I think you should be the mom Axel." He stated.

"Oh really? And why is that, short-stack?" I laughed, looming over him. Roxas shrugged.

"I guess you're just more feminine." He grinned, with a wickedness I could only compare to my own, and Xion's laughter only made it grow wider. "After all, you've got at least a foot of hair up there, and then there's the make-up-" I smacked him upside the head before he could finish.

"You idiot! Those are tattoos!" Roxas yelped, still grinning as he rolled out of the way of my attack, knocking Xion over and making her laugh harder. "Get up here and say that to my face, half-pint!" I snarled, though already it was half-hearted. Xion was nearly breathless with a contagious laughter, and Roxas lay sprawled out over her legs, grinning hugely.

"Wife beater!" He cried, in between laughter, and finally I caved. Falling down next to them, I let the laughter take me.

I'm not sure how long we stayed out there. The sun had gone down long before we'd we'd even begun to think of RTCing. And even after the last lights had died off and the street lamps were starting to flicker on, we were still up there, laughter going strong.

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**Alright. Three chapters! If anyone reads this, review it! If you like it, review it! If you hate it, review it! Or I will send Roxas after you, and his emo-ness with smother you until you die. You get the idea. R&R! **


	4. Nothing

**Very short chapter. Just a blip, really... This takes place during the Roxas Xion running away madness. Basically, Axel goes and takes his frustrations out on some Heartless, and wonders about his friendship with Xion and Roxas. Angsty XD**

**Thank you for your reviews! I thought that this story was going to die, but now it shall live again ^_^  
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How do you deal with problems in the Organization? There are quite a few ways. Back in the day, I used to dump my issues on ol' X-Face and duke it out with him in the sparring room until I was satisfied. Or, if I had a death wish, I'd piss off Xaldin. Or Zexion. The shrimp had a temper, let me tell you. The easiest way to get rid off the heartless angst all us Nobodies carry, though, is to throw ourselves into our missions. Which, as of late, seemed like the simplest way to go.

I watched as the Heartless burned, shriveling away into nothingness. That was what everything seemed to be nowadays, nothing. In the end, it all just disappeared. Nobodies, Heartless, and now, the remnants of the life I'd loved. Yes, I'd loved this life. With or without a heart, this life was something I'd become used to, and losing it… I hated that. Watching everything blow away in the wind, like it was all fake, made of dust. And, maybe… Maybe that's all it really was.

Roxas was more human than any of them. He could feel emotions so genuinely. To say he didn't care about things wouldn't be true; he really had a heart. I strongly believed that. Half of Sora's heart was his, and half a heart was better than none.

What had I been thinking anyway? I was a Nobody, a creature without a heart that wasn't even meant to exist. The "feelings" I had? They weren't even real! All of this, everything that I "cared" about, the people I "loved?" They were fake too. I was fake, this whole world I lived in. Nothing seemed real anymore, now that it was all falling apart before my very eyes. Shattering, crumbling, and then withering away until all that was left was… Nothing.

"Dammit Roxas…" I muttered angrily, recalling my chakrams and gripping them tight.

How could I say I didn't have emotions, when this hurt so much? Roxas had half a heart, and even with that, he cared less than I did. I didn't even have a half a heart! And, even with a hollow space where my heart belonged, they'd still mattered to me. Roxas and Xion… I'd cared about them. They'd been such an important part of my existence, and now… Xion just kept running from us, and Roxas… Roxas didn't give a rat's ass about us. He didn't care what happened here, didn't care about completing Kingdom Hearts –what we'd worked so hard for –and he didn't care about the Organization.

He didn't care about me. His "best friend", the person who'd busted his ass getting him out of trouble so many times. Everything we'd been through… It had been so real to me. Our friendship, the adventures, the good times and the bad times… Did they really mean nothing to him?

And, if they meant nothing to someone with a heart (alright, half a heart), then did that make them nothing? And if that was true... Then what did that make me?

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**And there it is. Thank you again for your reviews, they get me through each chapter ^_^ If anyone has suggestions for scenes they'd like to see, I'm all ears (note: just because it's suggested doesn't assure 'll write it -ish lazy XP)**

**Please review if you've read! Thank you!  
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	5. Horror Movie

**Wow! It took forever, but finally, this story has been found! Thank you all so much for your reviews! ^_^ Via request, I have updated. **

**This takes place during Axel's trip to Castle Oblivion, when Vexen shows Sora Twilight Town and almost spills the truth about Roxas. A take on Axel's thoughts about what could have been Roxas's demise, and his duties to his new "friend." Roxas-speech-memories come from the Days manga, which u can all read on mangafox if you haven't already XD Now, enjoy!**

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"What... Is he doing?" Larxene murmured. I pulled myself up from the couch, pacing over to where she stood. The screen unfolded before us, showing a familiar man and an increasingly familiar spiky-haired boy.

"What's going on?" A voice from behind asked, and beside me Larxene looked up. I, however, refused to move my eyes from the screen. Because on it, I was watching what looked like my own personal horror movie play out.

The old, blond-haired man stood before an iron gate, in his gloved hand a small card. I knew that gate, I'd seen it tons of times on missions and days when I'd been too lazy to go up to the clock tower. Vexen was in Twilight Town. That alone was not bad -after all, he had as much right as me to wander in any world Xemnas let him -but that wasn't what froze me where I stood. The real terror -if I could even call it that -was in the fact that Sora, Roxas's Other, was in the town of Roxas's birth. I couldn't believe it. A feral part within me wanted to tear the screen off the wall, hack it to bits with my weapon. Vexen... That bastard!

He was going to tell Sora about _him_. He was going to let them –no, _make_ them –meet. He was going to end Roxas. This thought came to me and left me feeling numb. I looked down, aware that my hands were shaking. Whether it was with false fear or rage, I didn't know, but I was glad that Larxene had retreated to Marluxia's side so that I wouldn't have to hear any of her snide comments about it.

Vexen was going to make the two of them meet. When Sora and Roxas met one another… Poof. The two of them would join back together as one, making Sora complete once more, and Roxas… Well, bye-bye Roxas.

For some reason, that shook me more than I ever could have imagined. I imagined the two of them merging -Roxas disappearing -and I shuddered.

I stopped. Took a breath, tried to reason with myself. If I thought about it, I didn't really owe anything to Roxas. I'd served my time as his mentor. His destiny, his fate, everything else was out of my hands now. But…

But…

Unwittingly, I remembered the look on his face when I'd told him I had to leave. The eagerness he'd had when he found out we had a mission together. Even those stupid times when he called me "Axis" or "Access."

_Oh! I also learned that you're a really great guy, Axel._ I winced as his voice replayed in my head, so vivid I would have sworn he was really there.

_The two of us… We're… friends?_

_ Yup!_ Why did those memories of him sting my mind? Why did it hurt to think of him? This was out of my hands. I didn't have to –couldn't really –do anything about this.

_Hey, I laughed… I guess we really are friends._ Friends… Like Isa and Lea. Friends stuck together, right? Friends didn't let one another go "poof". At least, not without a fight.

A surge of fire burst through my veins, flames like adrenaline that flickered within me, consuming me. Orders or not, something had to be done. Who cared if I owed anything to Roxas? Friends did stupid stuff for each other.

_You looked out for me when I was all hazy. No one else wanted to…_ Roxas… That blank, boring, zombie-ish kid… I couldn't let him disappear. I didn't know why -after all, I didn't have a heart, so what did I care? -but I couldn't bring myself to let this happen.

"Looks like I'm still looking out for you, huh?" I muttered to myself, tuning to fix my gaze on Marluxia. His gaze, which had been on the screen -and hopefully not me -shifted, first to Larxene, and then to where I stood. He smiled, a venomous look behind his eyes. I raised an eyebrow, muscles suddenly tensing, awaiting the order that would drop the last piece of the plan in place.

"Axel, destroy the traitors within our midst." He ordered, his smile acidic and his voice calm, almost melodic. I tried to hide the viciousness in my smirk as my chakrams burst to hand, long past ready to fight.

"Don't you go backing out on that order." I chuckled, the dark portal rippling almost menacingly behind me. "No regrets." I smirked.

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**Kay... Kinda short. And a little choppy. Any comments, any suggestions, go ahead, shoot! I'm ready!**

**Thank you for reading, please review ^_^  
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	6. The Perks of Baby Sitting

**Hiya everybody! I'm baaack!**

**I'm so glad people actually _want_ me to update this now ^_^ Anyway, this chap takes place somewhere in the first week or two of Days... I based it off the Days Manga, which everyone should read, because it's adorable. Go to Mangafox (.com) and lookitup! Now, enjoy the Zombie-Roxas cuteness.**

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**"You have to be careful around some of these guys Roxas." Axel sighed, guiding the smaller Nobody away from the others, who were whispering something that Roxas couldn't hear. "Not everyone is as nice as they seem. People around here will do whatever it takes to scrabble their way to the top, which includes manipulating little newbies like you." He explained, leading him toward the Corridor. "You also have to be careful about what you get yourself into. You see Marluxia over there?" Axel leaned down so that he was at close level with Roxas, and pointed toward the pink-haired Nobody, who was polishing his scythe. Roxas nodded, focusing on him.

"Yes. He really likes my Keyblade. He always talks about its power." Roxas noted, his voice a little bit unsure.

"Exactly." Axel nodded, standing back up. "Marluxia has been trying to climb up the ranks forever, and he'll do anything it takes to get to the top. Whatever you do Roxas, don't get tangled up with him. He'll take advantage of you." Roxas turned his head, and confusion flashed across his eyes. Axel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out how to explain it to Roxas. "Okay, let's see... Well, no offence Roxas, but you aren't exactly the... Wisest person here. You're still pretty new, and you don't have all of the street smarts it takes to survive here without a little bit of help -ahem, moi- and the others know that." He began, but Roxas interrupted, still a bit confused apparently.

"Street... Smarts?" He asked slowly. "What are street smarts?" Axel sighed again. Dammit, when he'd been assigned baby sitting, he hadn't expected it to be this difficult!

"It means that you have what it takes to make it in the world. You understand people and the different types of people, and you can decipher a bunch of different situations and use experience to back you up, yada yada yada, basically, something you lack." Axel groaned, hurrying along. "Any way, since we've clarified that you no nothing about people, can we move on?" Roxas nodded, and he continued. "So, as I was saying, the others -Marluxia -know that you are still a bit confused about everything. They also know that the Keyblade is very powerful, and they -Marluxia especially -would love to get their hands on that sort of power. And because you're so..." Axel paused, looking for the right word. 'Stupid' just sounded mean, and Roxas wasn't dumb, just clueless. "Well, we'll call it innocent. Because you're so innocent, they know that it would be easy to trick you into helping them reach the high ranks." He paused, waiting for Roxas to catch up and respond. Sure enough, he did.

"And that would be a bad thing. Right?" Axel stifled a moan. He knew Roxas was still new, but jeez, when was he gonna catch up?

"Yes Roxas, that would be bad. Because sometimes, the stuff they're doing in order to get up there is stuff that could get them in some serious trouble -I'm talking major, like getting turned into a Dusk -if they get caught. And if you get reeled into something like that, then you could get in trouble too." He finished gustily. "And we can't afford to have the key-wielder turned into a Dusk because everyone thought he was some sort of traitor." He added on hastily, before Roxas had a chance to respond.

Roxas stared at him for a few moments, his cerulean eyes fixated on him as he processed everything he had heard. "Okay." He said finally, smiling slightly. "Thanks Axel."

Axel wasn't sure how to respond for a moment. He knew Roxas wasn't really grateful, since he didn't have a heart to feel it with, but he also knew that Roxas had no memories to remember the feeling of gratuity. Yet, even those who could remember such a thing still showed him no acts of it, even if it was only false. So... What did it really mean? _Either way, he's still the first one to actually show their thanks. I'll give him that at least._ He smiled, patting Roxas on the shoulder.

"Don't sweat it. Now, you go and do... Whatever it is little Roxases do. I've got some other orders to attend to." He gestured for Roxas to 'run along', and Roxas walked off obediently. _He's still a little rough around the edges, but at least he isn't a total zombie any more. _Axel smiled, a strange feeling of warmth glowing in him. Mussing his hair, he turned and strode off, wondering why it was he 'felt' happy all of a sudden.

_Oh yeah! And I learned that you're a really great guy Axel._

_ Wha-_

_ You looked after me when I was spaced out. No one else wanted to..._

Axel felt himself smiling again.

Baby sitting really wasn't all that bad.

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**I love Axel and Roxas's relationship X3 It's so cute. The italics at the end are things Axel and Roxas said in the manga. It was such a cute scene ^_^**

**Please review! Or Marly's uber-shiny scythe WILL be sicced on you!  
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